It is known as the driest place in the world where some weather stations have never recorded any rain.
So visitors to Chile's Atacama desert could be forgiven for being just a little surprised to find snow there in recent days.
Residents of San Pedro de Atacama, around 750 miles from the capital Santiago, say the downfall was the heaviest in three decades for the area, described as the driest hot desert on Earth.
Now there are fears the melting ice and accompanying rainfall could cause some rivers to flood as has previously happened.
The National Office says the tourism Road to the city was temporarily Blocked Because of the unusual weather, IT was Reported by Sky News .
Officials expect more rain in the coming days, but have not ordered any evacuation.
The Atacama desert, which spans from Chile to Peru, is made up mostly of salt lakes, sand and felsic lava and receives an average rainfall of just 15mm (0.59 in) per year.
A few areas get as little as 1mm and some weather stations have never had any at all.
At night, temperatures can drop to as low as-25C in the zone of Ollague, while during the day it can reach between 25-30C in the shade.
It is so arid that even mountains reaching as high as 22,589 ft are completely free of glaciers.
The desert is also known for being the location of the world's largest telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array (ALMA).
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